Chief executive officer of Intel Corp. said that the release of Microsoft Windows 7 operating system (OS) will catalyze enterprises to start replacing their outdated personal computers with new ones, which will boost the economy of the whole high-technology industry.

“I think that Windows 7 will help drive a refresh in corporations and we’re cautiously optimistic we’ll see that in 2010,” said Paul Otellini, the head of Intel, in an interview with Financial Times news-paper.

According to the chairman and chief exec of the world’s largest chipmaker, corporations now use personal computers that are over three years old. Outdated desktops and laptops have significantly increased cost of ownership and this factor, in conjunction with the release of Windows 7, should encourage enterprises to replace their old systems with new PCs.

“I think corporations’ capital budgets got clamped down fairly aggressively at the end of last year. But in terms of PC refresh I would expect that now to happen in 2010. The fleet of PCs is getting fairly aged; most corporate notebooks are now over four years old, desktops are over five years old, they need to refresh,” said Mr. Otellini.

It is widely expected by the industry that the launch of Windows 7 OS will catalyze both consumers and enterprises to buy new personal computers. However, only time will tell whether those expectations turn out to be real.